Denier Bracteate - Eberhard II of Waldburg-Thann

Eberhard II served as Bishop of Constance from 1248 to 1274, a tenure marked by persistent friction with the Hohenstaufen imperial administration and, after 1268, the political vacuum left by the dynasty's collapse. These thin-flan bracteates were the dominant small-change currency across the Upper Swabian and Lake Constance regions throughout the mid-thirteenth century, struck with a single die pressing through to produce a mirror image on the reverse — a technique that kept production costs minimal but left the coins extraordinarily fragile.

At 0.39g, this piece sits at the lower end of surviving bracteate weights, consistent with the progressive weight reduction documented across Constance issues during the 1260s.